Prince Merlin
by superwhomerlockian1313
Summary: Merlin is a prince from the kingdom of Altair, but he was forced to flee 10 years prior. He thought that he would never return, that was until some knights came to Camelot looking for their lost prince. Prince!Merlin I DON'T OWN MERLIN.
1. Chapter 1

Prince Merlin Ambrosius woke up in the city of Camelot to the voice of Gaius yelling his name. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and clutched his royal seal hung on a necklace around his throat. It reminded him of his kingdom, Altair, which had fallen 10 years previously due to his aunt betraying his family. The seal was the one thing he had from his kingdom in addition to his sword. They were remarkable artifacts. The sword was a gleaming silver with a blue dragon etched it to the blade at the top. The handle was layered with sapphire gems giving the overall blade a magical appearance. The blade itself had extraordinary capabilities. It was forged in the breath of a dragon and had the capability to kill even those already dead. The royal seal had a somewhat similar appearance to the sword. It was made of a similar silver as the blade; it showed two dragons on the front with their tails intertwined. The dragons rested on a small sapphire gem matching the blade perfectly. He put the blade in its sheath and cloaked it with magic. No one could no his identity for fear his aunt's knights would find and kill him. The only one in Camelot that knew was Gaius, but he was sworn to secrecy. Merlin then proceeded to put on his neckerchief to cover his royal seal. Lastly he pulled on his brown jacket to complete his overall appearance of a peasant/farm boy. He rushed down the stairs and ate a quick breakfast.

"Going to train, sire" Gaius asked, noticing his haste.

"Titles," he replied with a glare, "and yes, I'm and going to train a bit before I wake King Prat from his beauty sleep." Merlin proceeded to the door in the direction of Camelot's boundaries.

Merlin soon arrived ant the edge of the forest near Camelot. It was a short walk to the small training field he set up when he first arrived. The training field was cloaked like his sword so that in the unlikely event that someone stumbled upon it, they would just see an empty field. Merlin uncloaked the area and pulled out his sword. His eyes flashed gold as he muttered a quick spell to make the dummies come alive and fight him. There were 9 in total; Merlin slashed and cut them all down in four minutes flat. He knew Arthur couldn't do that. He allowed himself a smug smile before fixing all dummies to there original state. He continued battling the dummies, challenging himself by fighting with one hand, with his opposite hand, and lastly he fought the dummies with no sword, relying on his magic to fight instead. He retuned the now completely decimated dummies to there flawless state and cloaked them before leaving the clearing.

Merlin barged into Arthur's chambers, not bothering to knock. He yanked the curtains open shouting "Rise and shine!" as he did so. The annoyed king grumbled and put a pillow over his head.

"Alright, you asked for it," Merlin said grabbing Arthur's legs and pulling him off the bed. Merlin laughed remembering when his servant would wake him in the mornings. The only difference was that Merlin, already powerful at age 12, would hang his servant upside down. Arthur didn't have magic though, so he settled with throwing anything within arms reach at Merlin. Merlin just laughed and ran out the door to get Arthur's breakfast.

Merlin returned and set Arthur's food on the table. Merlin glanced in the direction of Arthur. He was reading a letter with a very concerned and possibly a bit confused look on his face. Merlin was suddenly glad he set Arthur's food down already, because he would have dropped the plate in shock. He recognized the wax seal on the paper; he would recognize that seal anywhere. It was the seal of Altair.


	2. Chapter 2

"Wh-what's that?" Merlin said gesturing to the paper in Arthur's hand. He internally winced for his voice cracking. He assembles his features into a bored almost disinterested look. In reality he was dying to know more information, but he couldn't reveal himself.

"Some knights from a nearby kingdom would like to have an audience with me, it appears there kingdom was attacked some 10 years prior and they are now in search of there prince who was forced to flee so they can retake the kingdom." Arthur finished the account with a grimace probably imagining ever losing Camelot.

Merlin, on the other hand didn't have to imagine it. He was there. He remembers it like it was yesterday. He woke to the sounds of screams; the entire lower town was on fire. His mother rushed in and pulled him out of bed, still in his nightclothes. As soon as he exited his bedroom his three closest knights surrounded him. Sir Jacob, the redheaded knight thrust his sword and sheath into his hands and they ran down the hallway. He pulled it on with shaking hands.

"Where and we going? What happening? Where in Tyler?" He shouted hysterically. Tyler was his brother.

"The castle was attacked by your aunt," He mother said in short gasps, running very quickly. "We are going to your brother and father now," she added still panting from the exertion.

He, his mother, and his knights rounded the corner and nearly ran into his bother and father.

"Tyler," Merlin shouted, hugging his brother. His bother hugged him back for a few short seconds. He then pulled back and squatted till he was looking in Merlin's eyes.

"I need you to take this and run," he said pressing the royal seal into his hand. Tears were streaming down Merlin's face.

"No, you're coming to!" he shouted. His bother pressed Merlin's arms down to his sides.

"I'm sorry, but I have to protect the kingdom," his bother said "Merls, you have to run," he said using his nickname for the last time.

"No! I'm staying with you he said clutching his brothers arms." His brother glanced at Sir Jacob. Sir Jacob brought the hilt of his sword down on his head, effectively knocking him out. When Merlin woke he was in Ealdor. His mother was the only one with him. Everyone else had stayed to fight.

Merlin was abruptly brought back into reality when Arthur shook his shoulder.

"Merlin, what's your problem? You haven't been going the the tavern again have you?" Arthur said.

"No," Merlin replied defensively. It was the truth, he only went to the tavern when Gwaine forcibly dragged him there.

"Idiot," Arthur mumbled. Merlin grimaced. He really hated being called an idiot when he was anything but an idiot. It was part of his disguise though, so he just went with it, calling Arthur a prat when he wasn't looking.

"They are visiting tomorrow morning, so you need to come to my chambers early," Arthur said glancing at Merlin as he did so. Merlin nodded in Arthur's direction and exited his chambers. He had a lot to thing about.

With some thought Merlin decided to go to Freya's lake to get some peace. He took a horse under the pretense of gathering herbs for Gaius and rode out, arriving at the lake shortly. He sat by the edge of the lake and let his hand rest on the surface of the water. Tomorrow he was going to see some of his knights. He wondered who would come and how they intended to take the kingdom back. He hoped it would be sir Jacob and sir Gabriel, for they were his closest knights and friends from Altair. Merlin sighed and got up. He needed to return to Camelot before his absence was noticed. He gathered a few herbs so as not to look suspicious and rode to Camelot. Merlin got back went back to Arthur's chambers to receive his work for the day. It was a shockingly small amount of work, so Merlin had time to train some more before turning in for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Merlin woke extra early and was actually on time in waking up Arthur. He was incredibly exited to see the knights and couldn't wait until the meeting. Arthur and Merlin headed down to the throne room where Percival, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, and Mordred were waiting. Arthur and the knights talked and bantered slightly for 15 minutes before there was a knock at the door. Arthur took a seat in the throne and looked to see his knights assembled beside him.

"Be respectful," Arthur said, glaring at Merlin "enter," Arthur said looking expectantly at the door.

Three knights entered the room. They wore solemn expressions, but Merlin could hardly contain his excitement. The knights in front of him were Sir Jacob, Sir Gabriel, and James. James was Merlin's best friend in Altair. He had short blond brown hair, and was Merlin's height. He looked into the room and observed the knights standing around Arthur. His shoulders were tense and he stood close to Gabriel. He was not a knight when Merlin left when he was 12, but 10 years was along time, and it looked like a lot had changed. The first thing Arthur did was tell them to recount their story. Gabriel, the tallest knight, with long reddish blonde hair, did most of the talking. He appeared to be the leader of the three and the others looked to him to give the orders. Jacob piped up when he forgot bits of the story, but other that than he remained silent. James stood beside them and surveyed the room. Merlin smiled looking at him. He and James had spent all their time together. Merlin knew everything about James and James knew every thing about him. James had a similar appearance to Merlin; when in Altair they were always mistaken for brothers. James had longer hair than Merlin, his hair covered a scar just visible through his bangs.

Merlin remembered exactly how he gotten that scar. The two of them had been wandering through the woods when they came to short cliff over a river. James slipped and fell in hitting his head on a rock. Merlin scrambled down the steep embankment and pulled his unconscious friend out. He pulled off his neckerchief and bandaged the cut before using magic to take him back to the city to be healed. Merlin shook his head and returned to the present watching the knights of Altair.

James eyes eventually landed on Merlin. His eyes widened and he gasped, Merlin smiled at him but quickly shook his head and pointed at Arthur. The other two knights look at James in confusion. James pulled the closer to him and whispered the new revelation to them. Their eyes widened in shock before they nodded their head in understanding. They glanced quickly at Merlin before continuing their story. The story finally came to an end. Arthur slowly nodded as he processed the information.

"Sire," Gabriel stated, "If you are to fight with us, you should know that we are a kingdom of magic. The prince himself has magic. We believe that magic is like a tool, and it is the people that make it evil or good."

Arthur grimaced at that. "You are right to tell me this, it is something I need to know." Arthur paused here before continuing, "I don't like magic and it is banned in Camelot, but I am willing to ally myself with it in order to fight with you in this."

"Thank you," said the knights, "we are in your debt."

"In the mean time, do you need help finding your prince?" Arthur questioned. At this the knights looked slightly panicked.

"No, its fine," replied sir Jacob quickly, "we found him last week in Essetir."

"Alright if that is all, then my manservant Merlin will lead you to your chambers," Arthur said gesturing to Merlin.

"Follow me," Merlin directed walking out of the chambers. As soon as they rounded the corner a hesitant voice called to Merlin.

"Sire," Jacob called. " is it really you?"

Merlin turned to face them. "Yes, but no titles, I don't like them, and know one knows about me either,"

"Merls!" shout James joyously and hugs him.

"Can't…breathe," gasps Merlin wiggling out of the embrace. He smiles at the knights. Tears started forming in his eyes. He was so happy to see the knights and his best friend.

"Okay, this is fantastic and all," James said, "but did I hear the king call you his manservant? How is that possible? You should be a knight, even at 12 you were better that all of your fathers best knights, sorry Gabriel," James says giving an apologetic glance in Gabriel's direction.

"Okay, well first of all, Arthur does not know of my skill with a sword, I thought it would be too close to my true identity. He thinks I am a farm boy from Ealdor. The only reason I am his manservant is because I saved his life." The knights nodded. It made sense so far. James grinned, that was merlin. He practically saved someone's life everyday.

"Do you still have your sword? And have your been training?" Gabriel asked.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold as he uncloaked his sword. "Yes, of course I've been training. I just train in a clearing a short walk from Camelot" he said answering Gabriel's question.

"Can we see?" asked Jacob, curious as to whether his friend improved over time.

"Yeah, sure, follow me," Merlin stated walking to the edge of Camelot. He recloaked his sword on the way there, not wanting to take any chances. Merlin and the knights soon arrived in the clearing where Merlin proceeded to uncloak his sword and the dummies. Merlin went to the center of the clearing while his knights stood off to he side. He fought all 9 dummies and finished even quicker than his usual time. He then fought the dummies using his sword and his magic at the same time. All 9 dummies were annihilated in under a minute.

Jacob whistled appreciatively, "Wow…you have gotten better,"

"Yeah, a lot better," Gabriel added, with a smile.

"You wanna try?" Merlin asked eying the knights.

"Sure," they replied in unison. Jacob went first, eying the dummies warily. He swung his sword in graceful arcs and quick slashes, defeating the dummies in just over eight minuets. Gabriel went next. He had a more brutal fighting style, using quick jabs and short slashes. Then followed James, he was the youngest of the knights, and very nimble he dodged and slashed through the dummies in quick succession. They finished in similar times. Gabriel was the fastest of the three at seven and a half minutes. Merlin recloaked his blade and the dummies before leading them all back to the castle and to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4

Merlin should be feeling elated; his three best friends survived the attack on the castle 10 years ago, and he was about to go reclaim his kingdom from his aunt. However all he seemed to feel was anger toward his aunt. His own blood had betrayed him in the worst possible way. His aunt had killed his brother and father and hadn't even felt remorse. She had allied with an enemy kingdom to attack Altair. The e attack had killed knights and defenseless citizens alike. Although he shouldn't, Merlin felt like it was his fault too. He should have sensed the difference in his aunt, after all, he was closest to her. His aunt would always spend her free time with Merlin. She would teach him magic, play with him, tell him stories, and watch over him when his parents had to do things for the kingdom. He remembered when he was five and she told him stories of the great Emrys and the Once and future King. At that time neither of them knew it was he who the stories described. His aunt would teach him tricks and games with his magic so he would never be lonely. He should have foreseen this mess, this betrayal. The blood shed in his kingdom was on his hands. Merlin was brought back into reality by the arrival of his knights. The knights seemed to pick up on his mood and tried to get him to cheer up. The four of them were gathered around Gabriel's door talking.

"It wasn't your fault sire," Gabriel reasoned, "no one could have seen this coming." Merlin glared at him for the use of his title.

"Merls, you need to let it go," James murmured putting a hand on his shoulder, "there's nothing you could have done."

"Yes there is, I could have fought her, I could have warned someone, I…I …I…,"he broke off, "I could have done something" he ended sadly.

"Your magic was no match for hers, at the time, my lo—Merlin," Jacob said gently. "you couldn't ha—," He was interrupted by Gwaine and Mordred suddenly appearing from around the corner. James quickly dropped his arm from Merlin's shoulder. Merlin quickly changed his face to a look of casual indifference and glanced at the knights. Gwaine and Mordred looked at the pair suspiciously.

"The princess would like to get in some extra training time in before we leave tomorrow," Gwaine says using the nickname he had given Arthur." Merlin groaned, he hated being Arthur's target all the time and pretending to be bad with a sword.

"Why are you groaning, you're an excellent—," James shut up when he received a death glare from Merlin, "you know what? Never mind," he said looking anywhere but Merlin.

"You are welcome to join us, if you like," Gwaine offered, turning to the knights, his suspicions increasing.

"Sure," Gabriel replied, "we'd love to."

The five knights and Merlin walked to the training field together. Arthur was instructing some younger knights that were finishing their practice when they arrived. The knights of Altair pulled out their swords. Arthur immediately took an interest in them.

"Where did you get those swords?" Arthur asked, "They are like none I've ever seen."

Gabriel looked to Merlin to see if he could tell Arthur. Merlin nodded, keeping it secret would cause more harm than telling the truth.

"The were forged in the breath of a dragon," Gabriel answered, "They can kill even those already dead."

"I thought all dragons were dead."

"Not all, just most of them. There are very few left."

Arthur looked slightly reassured about his and put his attention back toward training.

He paired the knights of Altair with the knights of Camelot. James was paired with Percival, Gabriel stood ready to fight Leon, and Jacob was leaning casually on his sword looking at Gwaine, his opponent.

"You ready," said Jacob cockily.

"Please, I was born ready," Gwaine said with a smirk. The battle started and finished in less than a minute. Jacob was clearly the better fighter, he had his sword at Gwaine's throat in less than 45 seconds. Arthur's mouth fell open in shock. Gwaine was one of his best swordsmen. Hoping Jacob just happened to be an excellent swords man, he turned to the James and Percival expecting to see James defeated. James was using short quick blows over and over again giving Percival little time to defend or recover. He used his nimbleness and speed to get Percival on the ground in about the same time as Jacob beat Gwaine. From there he pointed twisted Percival blade with his own causing Percival blade to get puled from his grasp. James placed the tip of his sword lightly on the chainmail. He had one the fight. James immediately went to the bench for some water breathing hard. Fighting using the series of continuous blows had taken a lot out of him, but it was the only way to win. Merlin nodded at James and smiled letting him know he recognized, and was proud of his skills in the fight. Meanwhile Leon was standing dumbfounded. He had obviously lost the fight. Gabriel was in possession of both of their swords and had his own sword pointed directly at Leon's chest. If it was possible Arthur looked even more shocked. Merlin laughed outright. It was funny to see the best knights in Camelot beat by his own knights.

"Are all the knights of Altair this good?" Arthur questioned nervously.

"No, we are among the most skilled of the knights, but even we do not best the prince" Gabriel said with a glance at Merlin.

"Wow…this prince must be impressive," Arthur said, "I can't wait to meet him." Gabriel smiled and tried not to laugh at that comment. Merlin snickered from beside Arthur.

"Well we best get a good nights sleep, we have a long day of travel ahead of us tomorrow," Jacob stated. The knights, the king, and the unknown prince retired to their chambers. They had a long day ahead of them.


End file.
